Mother Tongue and Students' Academic Performance in English Language Among Secondary School Students
Mother Tongue and Students' Academic Performance in English Language Among Secondary School Students
Mother Tongue and Students' Academic Performance in English Language Among Secondary School Students
Email address
sholexofafrica@gmail.com (Olanipekun, S. S.), attehdeborah@yahoo.com (Atteh, D.), zakujames@yahoo.com (Zaku, J. A.),
philipsarki82@gmail.com (Sarki, P. E.)
Abstract
This is a descriptive survey type research work on the relationship between mother tongue and students’ academic
performance in English language among secondary school students in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State,
Nigeria. Two hundred students who were offering English and Yoruba language were randomly sample for the study.
Pro-forma was used to collect data. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient and descriptive statistics were
used to analyze the data collected. It was discovered that mother tongue had no effect on academic performance in
English language since there is no correlation between students’ academic performance in mother tongue and English
language. On the basis of gender, it was revealed that female students outclass their male counter-parts in English
language while in Yoruba the finding was at variance. Recommendations were put to the fore based on the findings.
Keywords
Mother Tongue, Students’ Academic Performance, English and Yoruba Language
school or at home; have decided to inculcate in the children 1. The instrument of colonial power.
the habit of speaking English language alone both at home 2. The medium for commerce and education.
and in school. But if this kind of mentality is embraced by 3. The common means of communication
all, the country may stand the risk of accommodating a 4. A vehicle for benevolent Victorian enlightenment.
bonafide future generations without roots and culture. It is in line with the above thought located in the
To this effect, many scholars over the years in Africa argument of Ameyaw that Araromi (2005) opined that
have been working very hard over one common language English language has become our lingua franca since it is
as language of instruction other than English language. our official language of communication. It is the language
Adesanoye(1994) on national language both for Nigeria of politics, religion, education, science and technology. He
and Africa assiduously mentioned Swahili, Wasobia and further posited that English language has been made a pre-
‘Guosa’ which according to him had been proposed by requisite for admission into all tertiary institutions in
some other scholars. Yet, none of the alternative languages Nigeria for without a credit pass in English; no candidate
to English postulated by these scholars have come to stay. would be offered admission in any of the existing
In view of this, the case for English has always being university in Nigeria. The knowledge is important both for
overstated and the possible relationship between mother educational, economical and national development of a
tongue and students’ academic performance in English has country. The importance of English language as a school
become a virile condition for the position of English subject derives mainly from its utilitarian value to the larger
language proficiency among students. Nigerian society.
Ezeokoli (2005) also dispelled that English language is
very crucial to the Nigeria education system .It is not only
2. The Role of English Language in the medium of instruction especially at the upper primary,
Nigeria secondary and tertiary level of education but also the
language of text-books. It is through the vehicle of English
English language is a language without which there language that student accesses knowledge in other subject
could not have been an entity called Nigeria (Ogunsiji and areas. The reason, Oluwole (2008) while referring to
Olanrewaju, 2002).Yet, the academic performance of Salami (2002) had emphasized the importance of the use of
students both at secondary school and post-secondary English language in improving communication among the
school is worrisome .This Adesanoye (1994) pin-pointed various ethnic groups in Nigeria.
while he referred to Adeniran (1992) that there is indeed a In view of the above therefore, the role of English in
lot wrong with performance in English even among Nigeria has made the case for English to be overstated in
university students and graduates for that matter. the sense that it is the only recognized official language in
Nevertheless, where the proficiency in English is lacking in the country. Yet, The Nigerian educational system places
any academic setting, it will definitely lower the academic very much emphasis on the adoption and usage of the
performance of such students. English language in teaching at school levels. Even, at the
This stems from the notion that students’ academic nursery/primary where the National Policy on Education
performance in English is low, but government gives more emphasized the use of the mother tongue ,the English
attention to science oriented subjects forgetting that English language seems to have dominated (Adesina et.al,2013).
is the language with which all these sciences are taught and But the question now is whether there is a relationship
studied. Yet, English language in Nigeria has afforded the between mother tongue and students’ academic
country a great deal of opportunities of having contact with performance in English language.
the international world .This is not in a bit to adore English
language than any of the indigenous languages in Nigeria
but to unfold that English language is a providential 3. Students’ Academic performance
colonial linguistic legacy in Nigeria. Olanipekun (2013) in English Language in Nigeria
while citing Iliyas (2012) averred that its position is such a
ubiquitous one that almost every human pursuit beyond the The importance of English language for enhancing
self requires of the use of English in a sense. educational attainment through improved communicative
Taiwo (1993) argued that English by virtue of the skills and ability can never be over emphasized. Students
political power of its native speakers has become the who have so much difficulties with their communication
world’s international language per excellence. To him, it is skill may not function effectively in English, not only in
the world’s predominant language of information, English language but in their academic and this is no reason
dissemination, diplomacy, trade and so on. Ameyaw (1986) than the fact that English language in Nigeria today is the
who affirmed that apart from the introduction of English to language of text-books and the language of instruction in
indigenous peoples of British colonies that has led to schools (Aina et. al, 2013).
existence of numerous independent states like Nigeria or However, it is pathetic to note that students’ academic
Ghana, he also asserted that in the British colonies, English performance in the so called “language of instruction” in
has become: Nigeria has been awfully embarrassing due to the poor
International Journal of Language, Literature and Culture 2014, 1(1): 1-6 3
will be found out, recommendations could be proffered. Table 2. Descriptive Statistic of Students’ Mean Scores in English
language based on Gender.
N Mean Std.Dev.
6. Research Methodology Males 50 62.1800 12.73384
Females 48 60.9375 16.00586
The study adopted descriptive survey method where two Valid N(listwise) 48
hundred students’ scores in English and Yoruba language,
respectively were collected and analyzed for the purpose of Inference that could be drawn from Table 1 above is that
this research. These were the graduating secondary school there is no correlation between students’ academic
students of 2012/2013 academic session in Offa Local performance in English language and Yoruba language.
Government Area of Kwara State who combined English Thus mother tongue has no effect on students’ academic
with Yoruba Language. performance in English language. On the basis of gender,
All final year students of this academic session formed the results in table 2 and 3 shows that gender disparity in
the population of the study while the sample population for academic performance of students based on language
the study was those who combined English with Yoruba studies is not gender specific because in Table 2 females
language. students outclass male students in English language but in
The instruments for this study were scores of students in Table 3 males outperformed their female counter-parts in
English and Yoruba language. The instrument needs no Yoruba language.
validation because the results collected were mocks
examination organized by the State Government for all 7. Discussion of Findings
final year students and the results have been moderated by
experts in those subjects before being released. As seen from the findings of this research, there is no
The following null hypotheses and research questions correlation between students’ academic performance in
will guide the study: English and Yoruba language and more importantly,
H01 : there is no significant correlation between students’ students’ academic performance in Yoruba language has no
academic performance in English and Yoruba language. effect on students’ academic performance in English
Q1: is there any significant different in the performance language among secondary school students. This therefore
of male and female students in English language? posited that there is no tendency for mother tongue
Q2 : is there any significant different in the performance interference to hinder students’ performance in English
of male and female students in Yoruba language? language.
Statistically instruments found suitable for this research However, the above finding is at variance with the
work are t-test, Pearson product moment correlation co- findings of Aladejana and Odejobi (1999) when they
efficient and descriptive statistics because they are used to revealed that a child will learn faster and better if he is
determine the degree of two variables(Okoro, 2002) and taught in his mother tongue at the early stage of his
this could also be supported by (Owie, 1996) that education. It was identified that the mother tongue
correlation co-efficient is used to compute the strength of instruction will help the children to acquire facts and
association between two variables. Descriptive statistic information easily and quickly interpret information
summarizes a relatively large array of data into meaningful obtained properly and correctly acquire practical and
forms such that they could be more easily interpreted manipulative skills easily and develop desirable attitudes
(Nkemakolam, 2002). towards people.
On the basis of gender in language studies, Karthigeyen
et al (2012). in their study of academic performance of
6. Findings students in English language from gender lens in India
Table 1. Correlation table of Students’ performance in English and Yoruba made it known that the performance of the girls is higher
language. than the boys which agreed with research work of this
paper in Table 3 where a significant difference exists
N Correlation Sig. between boys and girls with the girls performing better.
However, Olanipekun et al (2013) in their finding
English and identified the males to be the best in language studies and
200 .174 .084
Yoruba
this corroborated with the research in Table 3 where the
International Journal of Language, Literature and Culture 2014, 1(1): 1-6 5
males outperformed their female counter-parts in Yoruba [4] Adesina, A.D.O & Oribabor, O.A. (2013). Mother tongue
Language (mother tongue). instrution and academic achievement of pupils in nursery
schools. International Research Journal of Arts and Social
Sciences, 2(5); 131-133
8. Conclusions
[5] Aina J.K. Ogundele, A.G., Olanipekun, S. S. (2013, October
It could therefore be concluded that mother tongue has 17). Students’ Proficiency in English Language relationship
with Academic Performance in Science and Technical
no effect on students’ academic performance in English Education. American Journal of Educational Research, 1(9),
language based on this finding and that there is no 355 - 358. doi:10.12691/education-1-9-2
correlation between students’ academic performance in
English and Yoruba language. Thus, English of many [6] Ameyaw , K. P.B. (1986). Can do without English? An
assessment of the role,status and the teaching of English as
students could not have been plagued from mother tongue a second language in Nigeria from the early beginings,
interference which some scholars have identified to be Unilorin Pedagogue 3; 98-99
affecting academic performance in English language which
has also extended to other school subjects. [7] Araromi ,M. (2005). The mother tongue, language of
instruction and issues in methodology: The Nigeria
It was also found out that female students were better off experience .in D. Ayorinde, A. Alade& O.K,
in their performance in English language than the males but Olusegun.Issues in Languages, Communication and
this was not obtainable in Yoruba language because males Education , Ibadan, Nigeria, Counstellations Books Ltd.
outclass their females in Yoruba. However, one cannot
[8] Ayodele , S.O.(1988). A study of the effects of the problem of
generalize with the findings of this research work until class sizes and location of schools on performance of pupils.
further studies are carry-out. Nigeria Journal of curriculum studies, 1(2); 145- 152
[3] Adesanoye , F.A. (1994). Tertiary English. In Samuel , O.A. [17] Ivowi, U.M.O., Okebukola, P.A.O.,Oludotun,J.S.O. &Akpan,
&Adesanoye,F.A. language and polity..Essays B.B. (1992).Raising the standard of performance in public
on :Language and society in Africa. Sam Bookman examinations in science, technology and mathematics. Stan
Educational, Ibadan, Nigeria. position paper (4)
6 Olanipekun, Shola Sunday et al.: Mother Tongue and Students’ Academic Performance in English Language
among Secondary School Students
[18] Nkemakolam, E.O. (2002). Designing and Conducting Qualification in English Language and Academic
Research in Education. Owerri, Nigeria, Barloz publishers performance in General English in Colleges of Education in
Inc. Kwara State. National Teachers’ institute , Kaduna. PGDE
Thesis (Unpublished).
[19] Obemeata, J.O. (1995). Education:an unprofitable industry
in Nigeria.Postgraduates School Interdisciplinary Research [27] Olarewaju, A.O.(1986) Causes of Students’
Discourse University. University of Ibadan , Ibadan, Nigeria. Underachievement in Science, Proceedings of the 27th
Annual Conference of the Science Teachers Association of
[20] Odeh, S. N., Nta, E.G., Egbe, G.B., Ebuta, C.N. (2012). Nigeria pp. 95-99.
Optimizing Students’ Performance in English through
Quality Teacher Education. Journal of Education and [28] Olarewaju,A.O. and Akinwunmi, J.O. (1988) Remedying
Practice, 3(9); 112-117. Students Underachievement in Science through the use of
Mother Tongue as a Language of Instruction: An
[21] Ogunsiji , Y . &Olanrewaju, O. (2002). Analytical Experimental Approach Nigerian Journal of Curriculum
linguistics, Ago-Iwoye,Nigeria, Olabisi Onabanjo Studies, vol. VI, pp. 41–49.
University press.
[29] Oluwole, D.A.(2008). The impact of mother tongue on
[22] Ojo,J.K.(2008). Students’ problems in English reading students’ achievement in English language in Junior
comprehension (ECR):some observations and research Seconday Certificate Examination in Western Nigeria,
findings. Nigeria Journal of Educational Studies and Journal of Social Sciences, Kamla-Raj, 17 (1);41-49
Research (NJESR) ,5 (1);25-29.
[30] Owie, I. (1996). Fundamentals of statistics in education and
[23] Okoro, O.M.(2002). Measurement and evaluation in the social science. Benin city, Nigeria;United Press.
education. Nsukka, Nigeria; Pacific Publisher.
[31] Sofenwa, L.A. 1992.”Teaching English as a second
[24] Olanipekun, S.S. (2013). Appraisal of Nigerian senior language in Nigeria: A re-examination of some basic
secondary school’s English Language Curriculum in the assumption”. Journal of Nigeria English studies Association,
light of modern curriculum. Advances in Arts, Social 7, 1-5
Sciences and Education Research, Sedinst International
Journal, 3(7); 527-532. [32] Taiwo ,S.A.(1993).Some psycho-social and linguistic
variables as determinants of performance In English in
[25] Olanipekun, S.S.& Zaku, J.A. (2013). Gender analysis of selected secondary schools in Kwara State. Ibadan: ph. D
students’ entry qualification in English language in Colleges thesis (unpublished)
of Education in Kwara State. International Journal of
Secondary Education, 1(5) ; 23-25 [33] Wikipedia. 2007. Mother tongue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_language
[26] Olanipekun, S.S. ( December, 2013). Students’ Entry